Well, the world’s been turned on its head—Le Coin was better than Fifth Avenue. Four gorgeous voluptuous girls—I would have liked all four of them but by now I was too drunk and I only had 70 euros left—the exact cut 20 to house, and 50 to girl. One more beer and that was it, too late. Suddenly I think in future I will stay in the IBIS again, rather than the Max!
Tag Archives: ibis
I am quite tempted to stay at the Ibis Midi on my next trip
I am quite tempted to stay at the Ibis Midi on my next trip. It will save me the taxi fare to & from the Max, and with a few preparatory drinks in me I won’t mind the long walk up to Cine Paris and Fifth Avenue, and the long walk back, so much perhaps. That would mean I could pop into Gare du Midi every day for a Panos and sight of Dounia, and a paper, and those lovely pizzas, and sometimes a late night chicken & chips in that restaurant next to L’Orient Express. Just the Max is SO cheap at the moment; even with two-way taxi fare it is still cheaper than the Ibis. So on the homeward Eurostar and I put my earphones in, and what is the first song? ‘Heroes’. So apt. Lola. Icona Pop. Night Ride & Sunrise (Sibelius).
Opposite the hotel I see a Café Central. Oh Jesus it’s just occurred to me
Opposite the hotel, I see a Café Central. Oh Jesus, it’s just occurred to me, they are going to go on a trawl of all the strip clubs and girlie bars of Schillerstraße aren’t they? Actually, that is quite good, as it means I will not be the only man when I walk in as I usually am, and they can take all the girls’ attention away from me. I should actually FOLLOW them from club to club! They can be my cover! They are putting a bet on tonight’s Scotland v Poland Euro qualifying match: a 6-5 win for Scotland. They are all ordering pizza on the ipad on the bar; this place is going to reek of mouthwatering pizza any minute now; yet another reason to move on, even with just one beer inside me. How atmospheric the old Ibis bars used to be. There was no need to change. It wasn’t broken, they should not have fixed it. It is broken now.
As always the eternal mystery and regret that the Ibis ripped out all their beautiful atmospheric old dark wood bars
As always, the eternal mystery and regret that the Ibis ripped out all their beautiful, atmospheric old dark wood bars and replaced them with the cold, hard, modernist mediocrities. The bars are now a place you want to get out of as fast as possible. Their stools are appalling; so hard to get onto even. Designed for their look and not for comfort, like everything else about the bar. The beer, Maxlrainer, is quite unpleasant, and not even really cold. As I suspected, the sexy little barmaid from earlier has left, replaced by a dour unsmiling black man. The reception staff also gone too. Now the dilemma: do I stay at this hotel on the way back next week, just to see that sexy little barmaid again, or try one of those cheap (relatively) hotels in Schillerstraβe? Oh no, a bunch of 6 or 8 Scottish lads have just entered the bar. Oh god the groom’s just arrived, dressed in a Bride to Be sash. My luck, a Scottish stag party arrive in the bar, just at the same time as me.
I forced myself to have my one (free) beer in the Ibis
I forced myself to have my one (free) beer in the Ibis; forced myself to have a small beer in L’Orient Express; it was a struggle. Thought I was going to have a heart attack. Then I forced myself up to Fifth Avenue, passing Beatrice in the road as I went; I didn’t see her as the sun was blazing but she called me back. Fifth Avenue was a bit better than recent visits, but I no longer feel comfortable there. I prefer the street environment. Prefer to take Beatrice into Jimmy’s Bar for a “looza peche”. From Fifth back to Ciné Paris and at least one really good film; the inevitable Anna Polina in The Advocate. Went back to see Beatrice again; tried Empire at 9.30 but it was too early apparently; then up to Gare du Nord. The Sexyworld videokabins are actually very very good, and the window girls are fantastic. The street girls were actually fantastic too. Summer is the time to come. Now I wait for my chicken & chips in the Lunch Factory next to L’Orient Express. It is 22 after midnight. An enjoyable evening in Brussels.
The Ibis does have an MTV channel
The Ibis does have an MTV channel, but it only shows music videos between 2am and 5am in the morning, when they think nobody is watching so it will be all right. The internet connection is excellent, and the beer in the bar is ice cold. I am glad to be back in the Ibis.
Back in the Ibis bar, midnight, quite busy
Back in the Ibis bar, midnight, quite busy. No, the place is no good for people watching, but I love just watching all the buses and trams rolling in and out of the station opposite. Something calming about it. Already I can’t wait to come back, and I still have another day and a half to go. And I’ve done nothing. Yet I am not bored. I am calm and at ease.
1149AM in the Ibis bar
1149AM in the Ibis bar. No point going back to Fifth today sadly; maybe try Le Coin again then walk up to Gare du Nord, and pop in to Le Coin on the way back. After returning to the hotel early yesterday evening I then slept through to 3AM, and missed the Bayern v Barca game. I hope I can catch the Real v Juve game tonight. The Ibis Stella is lovely and cold. I noticed Fifth Avenue has now got frosted glass in the windows with its opening hours displayed on it—in English. They’ve just started laying out a buffet of hot food in the Ibis bar, and it smells absolutely gorgeous. If I eat though I will not want to go out. All I think about when I travel these days is drinking, and eating. I have to make a real effort to force myself to go to the naughty places. Better to go to Gare du Nord later, when it gets dark, though not too late, this being Brussels. I discovered that using the crossing about twenty yards down the road makes crossing much less terrifying. Late in life I make these blindingly obvious discoveries. Late in life; what a thing to say. I still feel like a child. Still feel at least in my twenties as I was (just about) when I first came to Europe. Where did my life go? So many years lost to depression, and unable to face the world, and unable to cope with life. It was only in the strip clubs and brothels of Europe that I really learnt to cope with life and discovered some comfort and calmness. Then I would come back to London and be able to cope with life and work much better. I love Europe. I want Britain to be out of the EU but I love Europe. I love the countries of Europe and the people of Europe.
Here I am drunk in the Ibis bar
Here I am drunk in the Ibis bar, just watching the buses and trams leaving the Gare du Midi; and loving it. So happy, relaxed, at peace. Yes, Fifth is poor, and Le Coin is poor—but there is always that calmness of sitting in a bar filled with whores isn’t there.
Yes, let me re-base myself around the Ibis on my next visit
Yes, let me re-base myself around the Ibis on my next visit—the Ibis bar, the L’Orient Express bar, the chicken & chip shop next to it, only making brief visits up to Cine Paris for 10 minutes, 5th Avenue for one drink, Le Coin for one drink; not expecting anything from them; anything good I may find treat as pleasant surprises and icing on the cake. Treating them as the be all and end all has put too much weight on them, a weight they could not sustain for long. Culturally, I will never go to the Magritte and Fin de Siecle Museums again; I must wait till Brussels comes to their senses and recombine the old Museum of Modern Art with all their treasures in one place. I will not hold my breath. Perhaps time to go on that trip to the Delvaux Museum in Saint-Idesbald and the Rops Museum in Namur. Already I am looking forward to coming back to Brussels! But it is the Ibis bar, the Orient Express and the chicken & chip shop that I am looking forward to! Not the naughty places! I just wonder what else I will discover missing when I get home—my computer? My passport? My sense of decency & integrity? No, never that!
The traffic in the road outside the Orient Express
The traffic in the road outside the Orient Express and Ibis is so crazy I fear for my life; I usually just hang back by the wall until I see a couple of other people cross, and then just hurriedly run across with them. #sensible. It’s like a motorway this road. Like the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa. At the eleventh hour my faith in travelling is restored.
Crossing the road from Eurostar to get to the Ibis side of the road is insane
Crossing the road from Eurostar to get to the Ibis side of the road is insane; you have to fight your way across about 5 lines of raging roaring traffic and two sets of tram lines; there are no traffic lights, just washed out zebra lines, and you just have to hope the raging traffic wants to brake for you. I am amazed I have never seen anyone killed here or been killed myself. In London it just would not be allowed. Absolutely insane. But—this is Brussels! I have about 80 minutes to kill—time enough to stroll to Le Coin if I wanted (but I read somewhere they shut by 7PM), or get metro up to Ciné Paris, but I think I have done enough travelling today already. Let me stay over the road from the Gare du Midi; so here I am in the little Orient Express bar. It reminds me of the first film I ever saw at the Ciné ABC, an erotic 1970s Murder on the Orient Express. Only now do I notice the wall full of books are in fact fake trompe l’oeil books covering a doorway.
Nice to be back in the Ibis
Nice to be back in the Ibis, but disappointed to find no music channels at all, when back in 2002, 2003, there were three or four. Between my first Golden Age 2002-5 and the new one, 2014—, there was some kind of cataclysm. Every hotel in Europe removed ALL music channels from their TV—why??? And about 90% of the red light places closed down—90% of the Gurtel wiped out, 90% of Stuttgarter Platz wiped out. California and Cine ABC in Brussels closed down.
I feel sorry for Italy
I feel sorry for Italy, having to deal alone with all these migrants in their boats; how would GB cope if we had ships arriving on our coast every day carrying a thousand “illegal” migrants at a time, having to be continually rescued by the Royal Navy and coastguard; our political system would be in meltdown. Farage would be PM by now. I have made a big discovery on this trip to Brussels—I want to stay in the Ibis again from now on, and not the Max. For the ease of arrival and departure, the Ibis is so lovely.
So I begin my holiday in the bar of the Gare du Midi Ibis
So I begin my holiday in the bar of the Gare du Midi Ibis for the first time in years. In 4 or 5 hours time I will be tottering back up the road in this direction to pass out upstairs in bed. Then up very early for the long train journey to Vienna. Very strong nostalgia checking in to the Ibis again—this was my Brussels home for so many years. How lovely to arrive on Eurostar in Gare du Midi and just cross over the road to get into my hotel; even better when I leave and just have to cross over the road. I think I will resume staying in the Ibis again on all my visits—albeit it is more expensive than the Max!
I think I underestimate how much the 5.2% Belgian beer wipes me out
I think I underestimate how much the 5.2% Belgian beer wipes me out compared to the 4.2 or 4.5% I am used to in London; but at the same time I like the way the 5.2% Belgian beer wipes me out. I like the oblivion of it. 1151 Thursday morning. No desire at all to go to Cine Paris or 5th Avenue or the Rue des Comm. Let me head south then, towards Grand Place, O’Reilly’s, Celtica, and perhaps Le Coin. Of course, the consequences of not wanting to go to the Cien Paris, or 5th, is that there is no need to stay in the Max anymore; and I might as well return to my old faithful hotel, the Ibis. Just when you think you have solved a city, your proof dissolves in front of you. Just when you think you have an answer to one of life’s problems, the opposite turns out to seem more true. The truth is once I get in a bar I don’t want to leave.
Not wanting to go back to the Ibis bar while killing an hour or so before my Eurostar home I wandered down Avenue Fonsny
Not wanting to go back to the Ibis bar while killing an hour or so before my Eurostar home, I wandered down Avenue Fonsny and found this charming bar on the next corner, full of great ferns, and art nouveau posters and fabulous black & red walls—and the most gorgeous blonde ponytail barmaid. Like a Belgian Lotta, in tight green wool sweater and blue jeans over voluptuous bottom. On my last day in Brussels, I found Maes Corner closed, and in fact almost every shop in Brussels, too—is Day of the Dead a holiday here? I had two in O’Reilly’s, walked past the Metropole and the Cheese Café, found the Dome Café also closed, then after one in some tiny sidestreet bar, and after much deliberation, I returned to Ciné Paris. The two rooms are big and clean, the seats very new and comfortable, the screens big and the picture perfect—quite the nicest kino I have been in. The French porn films are high quality, and I found myself becoming highly aroused. When a very old man sat down next to me and tried twice to touch me, I had to knock his hand away both times not because I did not want it, but his touch brought me to the edge of glory both times. He left, disappointed, though I did not want him to. I think I could easily make a home here in the Paris. It was the most erotic moment of the whole trip, far more than anything with Angelica in Club 77 or Christina in Brussels. I am ready to have hands on me again. I think the barmaid’s boyfriend is at the fruit machine, she goes back to him whenever not busy. After a day of blazing blue skies, I was shocked to come out of the cinema, quivering, taking time to compose myself in the alleyway, to find it was raining! I take this as omen that I had at last found my answer in this holiday—it is back in the cinemas. I returned to Gare du Midi happy, feeling warm pleasure in my loins, and now pass the time here in the Café Hotel.
It is lovely to be back in the Ibis again. And to think I did not want to come back here
It is lovely to be back in the Ibis again. And to think I did not want to come back here. The pictures I saw in the Royal Gallery made the trip to Antwerp worthwhile. It was worth coming to Belgium just to see them. Arriving back in Brussels was a tremendous relief, though! I made my way to Louise and found both Buddha and Peplum but too early! I will try again. So headed back to Gare du Nord. For the first time found my way easily to the correct exit, by platform 12—so that is another mystery solved. The girls in those windows are really beautiful. The films in Paradise were really good and I was randy very quickly. From passing on the train, I now realise the windows extend for much further up Aerschot than I ever imagined. Chose long blonde haired Natalia from Bulgaria, such a beautiful, soft, gentle girl. She reminds me so much of Riccarda. She has been in Brussels just two days! Like with Olga or Riccarda or Diana, I just want to lay with her and cuddle her. Went back to Flamingos kabins and more great films. I passed a younger brunette in long see through blue dress in window, almost perfect body, and I wanted to go back for her, but resisted. Walked back to Le Dome instead. Headed down — and found a place called Night Dreams. It seems you just buy the girl a drink and nothing else. One blonde there. Left quickly, but just around the corner was Empire. At last, a proper strip club! With men in the audience! On stage the unbelievably big breasted, beautiful black Clarisse. I need a mortgage to pay for the beer—8 Euros a time—but the club had a good atmosphere. The nearest place to White Coffin I have found. Girls will dance for two minutes at your seat for 5 Euros, but then it is 200 Euros upstairs!!! Clarisse almost tempts me. Drank till I could drink no more then back along such a crowded Anspachlaan, looked for pub or cinema but could find nothing, and before long back at the hotel. How could I have been to Brussels all this time, all these years, and never found Empire!? Clarisse made the trip to Brussels worthwhile. And the films were better than I have ever seen in Brussels before. And Natalia was so beautiful. I never even made the effort to find a proper strip club in Brussels before. It is hard to believe. Yet it is true for Vienna and Berlin as well. The blonde in beige tight top in the station Relay shop is mind blowing. After I finished with Natalia, I straight away thought now what is the point of 3 days in Brussels???? Now I am glad I can stay here. I feel very happy in Brussels this time. Free from my amour fou with Viktoriya that ruined my last visit. I am glad I have got 2 more nights here.
The Stripper 